Technology Is Moving from Room-Centric HVAC Control to Property-Wide Energy Management

BOULDER, Colo. — Although energy management technology has been available for almost 20 years, the hospitality sector has been slow to adopt it, notes Navigant Research. That is beginning to change, as hotel operators look to improve financial performance at the property level despite a slow-moving economy. According to a new report from the research firm, the global market for energy management in the hospitality industry — including guest-room energy management systems and enterprise-level energy management software — will grow from $473 million in 2013 to $968 million in 2020.

“Guest room energy management systems are finding their way into an increasing number of hotels being built today,” said Eric Bloom, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. “The market is quickly moving toward next-generation systems that not only make individual rooms more efficient, but also are networked, turning hotels into smarter buildings that can achieve new levels of efficiency and participate in demand response markets.”

Hotels require specialized energy management technology, because today’s general building energy management systems are rarely designed to meet the technological needs of individual hotel guest rooms, such as distributed control systems, sensors, and software algorithms. According to the report, guest room energy management is going through a dynamic period of transition from autonomous, room-centric HVAC control, to property- and portfolio-wide integrated energy monitoring, control, and management.